Little
by MayDecemberMyHeart
Summary: Anna Smith was always so very little...
1. Chapter 1

Anna Smith was always so very little.

She arrived six weeks early, in the kitchen of her grandparent's farmhouse, so tiny that she fit perfectly in the palm of her father's hand. To hear her father tell it, she was so small she could fit into his pocket, like a good luck charm. She could remember far-fetched tales of being tucked away into dresser drawers at night because her parents could not afford a real bed for her. Or maybe they weren't so far-fetched. Her mother and father were poor as church mice and really in no position to care for a babe. They weren't even secure enough to take care of themselves, and when the influenza struck their household Anna's father was too malnourished to fight it. He passed away in the night, murmuring about the baby in his pocket.

Anna had never felt smaller.

For a year or two her mother tried to make it on her own. She sewed and baked and cleaned...doing everything she could to pay the rent and keep her daughter in decent school clothes. Anna's mother was never afforded an education, but she was determined that Anna would have one. Anna would rather have stayed at home and helped. Learning was fun and Anna was always willing to give her best and behave as well as she could, but she was half the size of the other children and they never let her forget it.

"But they call me Little Bit!" Anna protested as her mother tugged at the buttons of her coat. This was their daily ritual, Anna standing as still as a stone while her mother struggled to find ways to make her clothes look like they fit. Anna never made it easy.

"I know they do, and I know you don't like to hear it, but people are going to tease you about being small, just like some children get teased for being big." Ignoring her daughter's pouting face, Anna's mother gathered material here and there, tying up what she could and making plans to hem up the rest later, as if she would ever have the time. "The point is, everyone gets teased at some time or another. But it doesn't have to make you miserable. Just ignore it, and sooner or later they'll stop. The only reason they're still doing it is because your little face turns red and you start huffing."

As if on cue, Anna huffed, her young mind certain of the fact that her mother was wrong, was always wrong, and was always going to be wrong. Less than a year later, Anna's mother made a choice that proved Anna right.

She got re-married.

Anna's new step-father was friendly enough, buying her candies sometimes on the way home from work, making her new toys when hers broke, and even sometimes bringing home material for her mother to make her pretty new dresses. It seemed as though things were looking up, and Anna was ready to make the best of it. And then, one day, Anna's mother announced that she was expecting.

"Expecting what?" Anna asked, barely looking up from her primer. She was a slow reader, and could barely finish the chapters she was expected to read before bedtime.

Anna's mother giggled, finally drawing Anna's attention. Her mother never giggled.

"A baby! You're going to be a big sister!" Anna's mother beamed, and her step-father beamed right along with her. Anna didn't know what to think. She had been the only child for so long that the idea of a sibling was a bit daunting. Frowning, she turned back to her primer and pretended to read.

"I think this is the best she can do by way of a protest." Large hands massaged her shoulders lightly. "Anna, I know it's been just the three of us for a while now, and you don't want that to change, but I promise you that you'll still be our special girl. Nothing will ever change that." Anna's eyes burned with unshed tears as her step-father lifted her into his lap. "There, there," he crooned, smoothing down her hair. "Everything is going to be fine."

He lied.

The new baby came, and with him came all the worry and stress of a household that just inherited one more mouth to feed. Anna's old clothes were ripped and sewn and re-made into clothing that no longer resembled dresses for a little girl, but rather shirts for a baby boy. The already meager portions of food served up each night grew even smaller as the child grew, though Anna hardly noticed. It never took much to fill her belly, and she took to sneaking bits of her share to her brother.

One thing Anna did notice was the change in her parents. Her mother developed a sickness of the lungs, forcing her to cut back on the odd jobs she performed that kept the pantry stocked, and any small amount of money that she did bring in was quickly pocketed by Anna's step-father. Anna's mother might have been too sick to understand or even care what her husband spent their money on, but Anna understood perfectly. She could smell it on his breath every time he bent to kiss her cheek, something he did quite often since the birth of her brother.

Whiskey would never be her drink of choice.

The end of Anna's childhood crept up like a thief in the night, though she probably should have seen it coming. The touches… the seemingly innocent kisses pressed to her forehead before bedtime… the looks…

The looks alone gave her nightmares for years.

He watched her one night, watched her while she set the table and ladled out the stew just like she had seen her mother do a hundred times. Anna squirmed under his gaze, furtively glancing at the bedroom where her mother lay, seven months pregnant and too tired to move from her side of the bed. The door never opened.

"I'm so very proud of you, Anna," her step-father slurred from his spot at the head of the table, "taking up right where your mother left off, lazy wench."

Anna flushed, indignant for her mother, who would probably lose her life giving this man another child, but kept her mouth shut. Nothing good ever came from opening one's mouth in anger. Her mother taught her that.

"Pretty soon you might have to take over _all_ of her duties…"

Right then, Anna knew that things were about to change for her, and not for the better. Ducking away from the table and into the tiny kitchen, she washed up what she could, and scouted the drawers for the one thing she knew she was not supposed to touch. Finding it, she tested its weight in her hand and choked back a sob, praying she wouldn't have to use it.

Feigning sleep was easy that night. Every nerve in Anna's body was alive and alert, waiting for the inevitable. She was almost relieved when the moment came, when the covers were flung away from her body and her nightgown was inched up her body until the pink of her thighs gleamed in the moonlight and the blood from her step-father's arm flowed freely as he screamed bloody murder. In fact, she was somewhat giddy when the police came, questioning the entire family as if they weren't sure who to blame for the incident. Anna didn't care who took the blame. She could shoulder it all if need be.

She might have been only four-foot-six, but she had the strength of a giant.

 **a/n:**

 **Hey guys! This is my first Banna and I'm so excited! I hope ya'll enjoy it! I have to tell ya'll that it'll be a couple of chapters before our Mr. Bates makes an appearance, but please believe that he is on his way!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was an overwhelming feeling, walking into Downton Abbey as a new maid. The Abbey loomed great and high over Anna, dwarfing her in every possible way. For the first time since her mother told her she would be leaving to work at the estate, Anna felt as though it might have been a bad idea. After all, what in world could she do but be underfoot?

"Now, usually we don't like to hire maids this young, but her Ladyship requested someone around Lady Mary's age, though I hardly know why." The kindly Mrs. Hughes led the way through the downstairs part of the Abbey, stopping to introduce Anna to people who seemed too busy to be bothered to look in her direction. "There are three daughters, and you'll help attend to all of them," Mrs. Hughes said, pausing at the bottom a stairwell. "And if stairs are a problem for you, you might as well go home now and save us all the trouble of training you."

The stairs weren't a problem for Anna. The problems came when she was introduced to the daughters of the Earl.

"But Mother...she's a little girl!"

That first impression of Lady Edith stayed with Anna for a long time, until she was old enough to understand that first impressions never counted as much as last impressions and that children often say whatever springs to mind.

"Come off it, Edith. Mrs. Hughes said that she was my age, and I'm certainly not a little girl." Lady Mary moved to stand in front of Anna, almost a protective figure against Lady Edith's lack of tact. "Do you think I'm a little girl, Anna?"

Anna shook her head furtively, anxious that she should not run afoul of the Earl's eldest daughter on her very first day. "No, Milady."

Lady Mary smiled, and Anna thought she might float to the ceiling, such was the weight that was lifted off her shoulders. "Marvelous. We'll get along just fine."

Lady Sybil was easier. "My name is Sibby and Mother says I'm not old enough for a maid yet." The child grinned up at Anna, and Anna couldn't help but grin back. Lady Sybil was sure to be a troublemaker, and Anna liked troublemakers, as long as they didn't include her in on the trouble.

"Oh Mother, look at those nasty shoes! Why are they so nasty?"

Anna blushed furiously as Lady Edith gawked and pointed at the shoes Anna's mother had worked all night on to get clean for the trip. Every instinct told her to bolt from the room, but she stayed put when Lady Edith's mother, Lady Grantham, put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Now, Edith, I don't think you're being fair. After all, it was you who insisted that we call her down to meet her now, instead of waiting for her to get settled. Mrs. Hughes probably hasn't even had a chance to pull out a uniform for her." Lady Grantham smiled gently down at Anna and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "And I think those are lovely shoes."

The disbelieving look on Lady Edith's face would be forever committed to Anna's memory.

"Quite right. I think it's time to get Anna upstairs and into a proper uniform. Come along, Anna." A gentle pressure on Anna's shoulder let her know that it was time to go. Chancing one last look at her miniature employers, she caught Lady Mary's eye and grinned, beaming when Lady Mary grinned back.

The grin faded when she and Mrs. Hughes were sidetracked on the way up the stairs.

"Lord in Heaven… you'd think Carson would have more sense than to hire one more twink into this overstuffed house, but they just keep coming."

Twink?

Anna didn't know that it was possible to hate someone on sight, but she was pretty sure that this woman hated her with every inch of her being. Apparently Anna's size was going to be an issue downstairs too, if the way she was sizing Anna up was any indication. Not that she had any room to be judging people on their looks. The woman was anything but attractive, with her face pinched and drawn and her lips pursed so tight Anna doubted she could fit a spoon between them. There was also something not quite right about the curls that sat right above her forehead…

"I'll have you know, Mrs. O'Brien, that _I_ hired this girl, and not to be a twink. She's going to assist Lady Mary and Lady Edith. And perhaps Lady Sybil, when she gets a bit older," Mrs. Hughes huffed. "And I'll thank you to remember that it is none of your business who gets hired in this house. Although it may benefit you to pay attention to who gets fired."

With that, Anna was swept past a fuming Mrs. O'Brien and up the stairs.

"One very important thing to remember, Anna," Mrs. Hughes said as she unlocked a door that lead to a long hall. "You are not here to make friends. Oh, you'll make plenty, of course, but you are here to work. And as long as you do your job well, people like Mrs. O'Brien will have nothing to hold over your head when they decided they don't like you."

Anna nodded solemnly.

Work over friends.

As if it were ever going to be any other way.

"And now for the part I assume you're most interested in."

Anna's attention shifted to the door Mrs. Hughes was opening.

"Your room. For however long you're with us."

It was a small room. Not that Anna had expected anything different. But it was clean and neat and easy to move around, with two dressers and two small tables… and two small beds. Anna looked curiously up at Mrs. Hughes.

"Molly is downstairs. You'll meet her later. She's around your age. A good girl if there ever was one. I'm sure you'll get along fine. And even if you don't… I'll have no squabbling amongst my girls. If you cannot control your temper, you'll be shipped back to your mother with whatever wages you haven't squandered. That being said, it's never too early to begin saving." Mrs. Hughes smiled at Anna's bewilderment. "That's free advice. Take care… very little comes for free in our world."

It was truly overwhelming. Wages. Saving. Molly…

"Mrs. Hughes?"

"Questions, finally?"

Anna flushed. She couldn't help being nervous. The Abbey was unnerving all on its own, nevermind all the personalities within it.

"Who is Molly?"

Mrs. Hughes' eyebrow shot up into her hairline.

"Your roommate. Don't tell me you thought you'd get a room to yourself! Gracious, it's a wonder _I_ have a room to myself!"

Anna shook her head. That wasn't what she thought at all.

"No, I knew I'd have to share. But Molly is the only one?"

She may as well have asked if the sky was green.

"Of course she's the only one! I only see two beds here!" Mrs. Hughes rolled her eyes as Anna's widened. "Yes. You get a bed to yourself. That bed with the nice clean uniform on it? That's yours. So is the uniform and I expect to see you in it within the hour. And I expect it to stay nice and clean, do you hear me? I've no use for a messy girl."

And then Mrs. Hughes was gone and Anna was left alone in her room. The room with a bed all for her. No sharing with siblings. No sharing with her mother. No sharing with anyone at all. Anna smiled as she kicked off her shoes and unfastened the buttons on her dress.

She was going to like it here.

In her own bed.

 **a/n: Thanks for the wonderful reception into the Banna fic world! You've all been so great, and I thank you for the feedback. I'm going to try to post at least weekly, as much as I can.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**


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